Pika Power
by toshirostalker
Summary: Ash is a curious boy, and delves into the rules of pokemon attacks and typing. After rescuing a pikachu, he is given the chance he needs to break away from the people doubting him and form a team made up of the very best pokemon ever...pikachu!
1. The Beginning

The Pokemon world is a vast and mysterious place. There are hundreds of these mysterious creatures, and every day, even more are discovered. However, no matter how open-minded the scientists on this world claim they are, a few facts are always set in stone. One, pokemon cannot change into other pokemon unless they are evolving. But even if they are evolving, each creature has only one other they can become. The one exception to this fact is eevee, but we will come back to that in a minute.

Two, a pokemon of one type cannot change to the type of another. The only exception to this rule is if a pokemon evolves. In those circumstances, though, a type is never changed, while sometimes an additional type is added. Alola pokemon are not noted in this fact as an exception because they are born a different typing than the standard, not turned.

Three, and most important of all, pokemon are stagnant. Now, I don't mean that they never age, or never grow stronger, because they do. What I'm trying to say, is that pokemon biology is steady. It cannot overcome an attack equal to its own if the attack is of a dominant typing. For example, if an equally powerful water type and fire type both attacked with an elemental attack of their own type, the water type would win because it is strong over fire. At the same time, the water type would lose against an equally powerful electric type. And in the long run, a pokemon cannot overcome those limitations. It cannot be trained to withstand, or even triumph, over an attack stronger to its own typing.

I mentioned earlier that eevee's were an exception to rule number one, correct? That is because it is the only pokemon without a stagnant physiology. Its energy is always changing, which allows it the privilege to evolve into multiple different pokemon of many different types. Other than the noted exceptions, there are no other statements. These rules are fact.

However, science is always evolving. New discoveries are made everyday, so can we take anything we learn as a fact without actively trying to prove it wrong? Well, that is where we begin our story. Inside a small little town, there lived a small little boy who dreamed that he would be the very best that no one ever was. It is his story that we follow, as his actions changed the very foundation of the pokemon world as we know it.

Inside of a quaint little town called Pallet Town, the sound of whimpering could be heard. A little yellow mouse with three brown stripes on its back, two red circular cheeks, and elongated black-tipped ears could be seen hiding in the brush . Its naturally zig-zagged tail was lying weakly on the ground. One of its hind paws had a nasty bite in it that was oozing pus and glowed a slight purple. It cried weakly in pain, unaware that anyone was nearby to hear it.

Ash Ketchum was a curious eight year old boy, and very brave, but those traits often caused him to get into mischief. In fact, that was why he was currently in his current predicament. The other boys in town had dared him to venture into the forest in order to find a toy pokeball they claimed had been lost inside, despite the dangers of wild pokemon. Of course, they were lying, but the spiky, black-haired boy was full of courage and had a desire to prove himself, despite their taunts. So, here he stands, lost in the forest with no idea which way to go. That was, until he heard a faint whimpering coming from the brush to his left. When he peered between the leaves, he discovered an injured pikachu.

Ash had been taught by his mother to try and avoid wild pokemon at all costs, but decided to make his presence known to the creature anyways.

"Hey, you look pretty bad, huh? I don't think a band-aid is going to help much. Why don't I take you to Professor Oak's lab? He's a pokemon researcher, so I bet he knows how to fix you up really quick!"

The pikachu glanced up at Ash when he began to speak, but didn't have enough energy to do anything except growl weakly. It did listen to Ash's words, but decided it didn't matter either way. It would either die here in the forest, or go wherever this kid wanted to take him. Honestly, the second at least had a chance of survival, so he decided not to bite when the human gently picked him up.

Ash knew that this pokemon was not going to last very long, so as soon as the creature was secure in his arms, he jogged off in a random direction. Although he had been lost before, now it seemed that his gut was telling him instinctively which direction to go. Sure enough, within a few minutes, he could see the laboratory through the tree branches ahead of him.

Once clear of the leaves and other debris littering the ground, Ash increased his pase and dashed up the grassy hill to Professor Oak's door. Gasping for air, Ash kicked the door, unable to use his hands to knock because they were occupied. It seemed that Ash was in luck, for it wasn't a lab tech that answered the door, but the Professor himself.

"Now, what could possibly be so important that...Oh my! Quick, come in and follow me to the operating room. There's no time to waste!"

Nodding, Ash followed Professor Oak to said room, and once noticing the operating table gleaming spotlessly in the center, proceeded to lay the pikachu down as gently as possible. Meanwhile, Professor Oak bustled hurriedly around the lab, gathering gleaming surgical tools and bottles of mysterious substances. Once everything had been collected, he snapped on some blue surgical gloves and gestured Ash to do so as well.

"All of my lab techs are on a safari to learn about pokemon habits in the wild. They should be back tomorrow, but unfortunately, this rattata won't last that long. As long as you follow my instructions to the letter, we should be fine."

And so, Ash helped in his first surgery. Of course, no eight year old should see the inside of an animal at that age, but Ash seemed to take it fine. In fact, he flourished. He would ask questions about what body parts he was viewing, and why this part did what it did. In between, he delivered things like iodine for sanitation, or he dabbed away the blood that started to pool. While Professor Oak was draining the pikachu's leg, Ash asked about the purple color coming from it.

"Why, Ash my boy, that is because the leg is poisoned. Any body part that has been poisoned will have this purplish coloring to it. Judging by the size and shape of the wound, plus it's poisonous properties, this was probably a poison fang attack from an evolved snake pokemon species. Specifically, an arbok. No worries, though. You got it to me just in time. Any longer, and I would doubt it's survival abilities."

Soon enough, the pikachu was all stitched up and being relocated to the recovery room. It would be unconscious for a while yet, having been given morphine by Professor Oak, so the two humans retired to a modest sitting room for a break. It was while they were resting that Professor Oak began to speak.

"You know, boy, you show a high aptitude for the kind of work we do here. I noticed your interest in pokemon biology, would you happen to be interested in becoming a researcher one day?"

Ash boldly replied, "Nuh-uh, I'm going to be a pokemon master!"

Professor Oak chuckled, "Ah, youth these days. Well, even if you don't want to be a researcher, you can still learn biology and whatnot from here. Knowledge will only help you on your journey."

Ash's brown eyes studied the man across from him. Professor Oak was an older man in his sixties, with faint sandy-colored hair steadily growing greyer every day. His face held many wrinkles, but it was his laugh lines that stood out the most. He was a man who was once just like Ash, but age had slowly replaced his bravado with wisdom. His eyes regarded Ash with not contempt, like the Pallet Town boys. Nor did he look at Ash like he was a child, and was just humoring him. You see, most people believed that because Ash was reckless sometimes, he was unintelligent. However, that was not the case, and Professor Oak was probably the first one to see it, and Ash knew it.

"I think…" Ash stated slowly, "that would be pretty awesome. But can I just read basic biology stuff, and maybe stuff about pikachu? He seems pretty cool, and I've never seen one before."

It was true, what Ash said. Pikachu were not native to the area around Pallet town, and were generally a rarer pokemon. Not because of their power, but because of their nature. They lived in colonies deep inside forested areas along route five, between Cerulean City and Celadon City. They tended to retreat from any human interaction, and hide away from any and all trainers. By that time, trainers had a powerful team, and adding a weaker pikachu to their team dynamics threw everything off anyways, so the electric mice threw everything off.

Ash was interrupted from his internal musing when Professor Oak spoke up.

"Why, that sounds perfectly reasonable. Yes, in fact, I have an idea. Pikachu is going to have a bit of a recovery time. Not too bad, only two weeks or so, but that should give me enough time to see what you can do. I have a book on electric type recovery procedures, and one on pikachu in general. They're both relatively short too. I'll give them to you, but in exchange, I want you to handle pikachu's aftercare. At the end of the two weeks, I'll give pikachu an exam and if I like what I see, I'll make you a honorary lab tech here with me. You'll get unlimited access to my library, and I'll also throw in a surprise reward. What do you say?

Ash's eyes had steadily grown brighter and brighter. Now, they were burning with a passion so great, the flames couldn't be extinguished.

"I'll do it Professor, you'll see. Pikachu will be the healthiest it's ever been once I'm done!"

Professor Oak chuckled and got up to fetch the two books he promised, while asking Ash to wait for a few moments. While walking, the professor couldn't help but ponder a blurry memory in the back of his head. He thought it had some relevance, but couldn't quite recall. Regardless, the aforementioned books were retrieved quickly, and immediately after handing them to Ash, the little boy darted away to the recovery room to wait on pikachu.

In a small chair next to a crisp, white bed, was Ash Ketchum. He was rapidly devouring the text between his fingers with a ferocious hunger. As mentioned earlier, everyone in town, including his own mother, believed that Ash was much less intelligent than he really was. Because of those circumstances, teachers had held him back in school, or given him easier work. This was the first time Ash was able to read anything even remotely challenging. Laying on the bed in front of him was the pikachu from earlier. He was still unconscious, and would be for a while, and that gave Ash time to read through the books Professor Oak had given him. They were relatively thin, maybe 150 pages tops, but that was still quite a bit of reading material.

It was when Ash was a mere twenty pages from finishing the second book that pikachu began to stir. Ash had formulated some questions about certain things he had read, and was going to ask Professor Oak, but pikachu waking up had banished those thoughts. Immediately, the book was put away, page number noted, and his undivided attention rested on the rodent before him. Brown eyes met black, and a connection was formed.

In another world, Ash would have to drag a reluctant pikachu around after him before heroically risking his life to save the small mouse. This action would cause pikachu to give Ash his undying loyalty. In this world, that is not the case. Ash bringing pikachu to the hospital, and doing his best to help the mouse pokemon, ignited that spark, and the next two weeks would only strengthen it. Ash made sure that pikachu had fresh bandages every day, that the pokemon was always well-fed and in want of nothing. After a few days of recovery, the two of them would go outside to re-strengthen pikachu's leg, and to bring his speed and agility back up to where it should be. Correction, they made it better. In the meanwhile, the two grew close. Ash told pikachu about his life, and about his ambitions. He also spoke about the theories he had developed.

"Pikachu, why are types set in their ways? Why can't a charizard beat a blastoise in battle. In fact, with enough training, why can't we just change the type completely? Pokemon can learn elemental attacks from other types. You just have to change the feel of the energy. For example, pikachu produce electricity from their cheek pouches by making the energy tingly, right? Can't the attack become another element, then?"

Pikachu was just as curious as Ash was about the whole topic, and the two of them bonded over this new ambition that was growing. However, their two weeks were coming to a close, and with it, an overbearing sense of sadness. They would have to part soon, and neither of them was ready.

Professor Oak was examining pikachu. The way he moved, the flexibility in his leg, and the reaction time it had. To say he was pleased was an understatement. Ash had gone above and beyond during his trial period, and Oak was thrilled. However, he noticed just how despondently the two of them had been acting, and smiled to himself. Well now…

"Ash, I must congratulate you on a job well done. Pikachu is in top shape, even better than he was before. Now, for your reward…"

Sure, Ash was excited about his new status, and the rights to visit the library, but it was all shadowed by the fact that pikachu was going to leave soon.

"Like promised, you will receive your new title as honorary lab tech, and the bonuses that come with it. That means access to my library, and the secret privilege of being allowed a pokemon for protection, in case you ever need to do field work."

Professor Oak pulled a pokeball from his pocket with a satisfactory gleam in his eye. Ash, meanwhile, was in shock. Pikachu was the same. Did this mean…?

"Yes, Ash, this means that should you two want it, pikachu can become your first pokemon."

Professor Oak handed the ball to Ash, who treated it like a priceless treasure. He knelt down, and without a word, pikachu pressed his nose to the capture button and was sucked into the red and white orb. The ball dinged immediately, signifying a successful capture, and pikachu was let out just as quickly. They embraced, and though it really was a touching moment, Professor Oak had other things he needed to say.

"Well, I'm glad I made the right decision concerning the two of you, but there are some other things that need to be discussed. First of all, Ash, as an honorary lab tech, you have new responsibilities. These include helping me with the upkeep of this lab and all of the pokemon on it. Also, you need to clarify this with your mother and teachers. You start school again in a week, and your mother needs to approve you leaving in order to study full-time here. There is a lot of work to be done."

Ash nodded and stood up, pikachu still in his arms. The mouse scurried up to his shoulder and perched there, as had been common the last two weeks.

"I'll talk to my mom tonight, she's been wondering why I've been gone most of the day these last few weeks. I'll do my best to explain it to her, and have an answer for you tomorrow."

Professor Oak nodded and dismissed Ash, knowing the boy had a lot on his plate to do tonight.

It was during dinner that Ash brought up the subject. He had left pikachu in his room with instructions to remain hidden. His mom didn't know about pikachu, or the benefits of his title, because Ash knew she would never let him go if she knew he was going to get to go out in the wilderness.

"Mom, do you know how I've been gone for a while now during the day?"

Delia Ketchum nodded, her brown eyes outwardly showing calm, polite interest. Her red, mid-back length hair, which was tied in a low pony tail, slid over her shoulder at the motion. Inside, though, she was insanely curious. Her little boy didn't have any friends, and had a tendency to get into quite a bit of trouble. She had worried about him, but knew that pushing often led Ash to want to misbehave even more, thus endangering himself. Oh, she loved her little Ashy, but he really was quite dim…"

"I was helping Professor Oak at the lab. He had me help heal a pikachu, and because of how well I did, he wants me to go learn at the lab as an honorary lab tech. He said that I had to ask you though, because he wants me to leave school with your permission so I can study there. Can I please go? I wanna be a pokemon master, and Professor Oak said this would help me a lot."

On the outside, Delia seemed to be thinking about his words. On the inside, however, no thinking was going on at all. She was astonished! Her little boy was offered a place to learn at the lab? Impossible! Ash had a good heart, but he simply wasn't smart enough to have done anything of importance.

In a mad scramble for some sort of sense, Delia's mind put together some sort of weird amalgamation of facts to give a sensible reason for this information. That was when it clicked. Obviously, the Professor knew how mischievous Ash could get, and how stressed Delia was in return. Their two families had been friends for years, since before Ash was born. Because of this, the professor decided that by making Ash feel important, he could keep Ash out of harm's way by letting him feed pokemon and whatnot.

Not only that, Delia had an ulterior motive for allowing Ash this privilege. If Ash didn't pass his schooling, or its equivalent, he would be forbidden from owning pokemon or going on a pokemon journey. His father had disappeared during his journey, never to be seen from again. Delia had never wanted Ash to disappear as well, and had thaanked the heavens when she found out how unintelligent he was. The coursework the lab offered would be too hard for her baby to handle, and he would fail. It was a perfect solution! Once Deila had everything straightened out in her head, she smiled sweetly and said, "Of course you may, Ash. This is such a wonderful opportunity! I'll call the school tomorrow and let them know. You just worry about your new duties, ok?"

"Thank you, Mom!" You're the best ever!"

With that, the two of them continued dinner, blissfully unaware of each-other's hidden agenda.

What Delia didn't realize was that the title Ash had been given was a real title, and that it had benefits. Ash was lucky that Delia didn't realize that a pokemon for protection came with the package. When a trainer passed their exams to become active, they legally became adults. They were in charge of the care of their pokemon, keeping themselves alive, and even exchanging and making money. If a trainer had to call home to ask if he could have some money to battle, the journey would become redundant. Not to mention, if the trainer won a league, the prize money needed a place to go that was useful to the trainer. By passing the test, trainers showed they were intelligent enough to take care of themselves, and receiving their first pokemon was a symbolic way to show that. Delia knew that, of course, but as she didn't know Ash had received a pokemon, she didn't know that Ash had technically become eligible to go on a journey without ever passing an official test. The honorary lab tech title just made sure that Ash had the papers to prove he was legal, and hadn't just stole a pokemon or gotten lucky.

Ash, on the other hand, had no idea about his mother's motives for allowing him to leave school. He knew she didn't know about his intelligence, but not her secret goals in life. It would all come to a head two years from now, when Ash finally decided to go on his journey.


	2. On Our Way

It has been almost two years from then, and now Ash was almost ten years old. Despite his eagerness to start his journey, Ash had decided to wait for his tenth birthday to leave. Mostly, because he felt like he owed Professor Oak his time for even giving him this opportunity. Ash had learned so much, and had gone on so many adventures...well, that's a story for another day. For now, Ash was preparing himself for tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow was the day he would finally leave on his journey. He had already received a blessing from Professor Oak, but there was one other person whom he had to tell.

His mother.

Delia Ketchum was not aware that her son was eligible to go on his pokemon journey. Ash had been so stressed about telling her and it had made him sink into depression. His mother, wrongfully thinking that he had already taken the test, failed, and had just not told her yet, was ecstatic. The whole week leading up to this day had been filled with delicious dinners like pot roast, and homemade lasagne. Ash, noticing her mood and having realized the reason, had sunk even lower. Months ago, Ash had finally wised up to how his mother really felt and what she believed. It had been a hard pill to swallow. Since then, he had grown slightly distant, but Delia hadn't noticed.

Tonight, however, Delia had made a practical feast. There was a whole turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings. Delia was humming as she cut into her turkey, joyfully revelling in her assumed success. That is, until Ash broke the ice.

"Mom, I'm supposed to leave on my pokemon journey tomorrow."

"Oh, Ash, I know. And I'm glad you finally brought this up. It's ok, really. And besides, it will be nice having you around the house. And once you're old enough, in the work force, we can get you a job so you can save up for your family one day. Oh, the grandbabies…"

Delia had stars in her eyes, but all ash had was sadness. Well, until she had gone into her little fantasy. Now, those tears were hardening into steel.

"Mom, maybe I should rephrase that. I AM going on my journey tomorrow, and I was going to ask if you were going to send me off."

Delia looked confused at this point. "What do you mean, honey? Didn't you fail the trainer's exam? You can't be a pokemon trainer, silly. Now stop this nonsense, and finish eating."

"I don't know where you got that information from, but it's not correct. I did, in fact, pass my trainers exam. But I didn't even need to take it in the first place. Mom, I'm an honorary lab tech. I received my pokemon two years ago when I gained that title, and all the benefits that go with it."

Ash could see the dawning horror in Delia's eyes as she slowly processed just what Ash was saying.

"Hah hah," Delia laughed nervously. "That's such a funny joke, Ash. I've never seen this pokemon you claim you have, don't lie to me. And Ash, you're not quite smart enough to pass the lab version of the trainer exam. What have I told you about lying to me?"

"Mom, you need to listen. Ask Professor Oak if you don't believe me. Either way, I'm leaving on my journey tomorrow. Legally, I'm an adult. You can't stop me. And quite frankly, I can't believe you think I'm stupid. Even Professor Oak commends me on my intelligence."

Delia was in a full-blown panic at this point, and latched onto the nearest expressive emotion she could: anger.

"Ash Ketchum, you will stop this nonsense this instant! You are not going on a journey tomorrow, young man! Now go up to your room and think about what you've done!"

Ash pushed his plate away and walked upstairs, only to return shortly afterwards with his travel bag, already packed, and a yellow pokemon she had never seen before perched on his shoulder.

"Wait a minute, young man! Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to Professor Oak's lab. I refuse to be treated like a child and be screamed at by a woman in denial. It's not the first time I've slept there because of you, and if you don't fix your attitude, this will be the last you see of me."

Delia was too shocked to do anything but cry as Ash walked out of the house. As soon as he shut the door, Delia collapsed into her hair like a puppet with its strings cut. The tears poured down her face as she sobbed into her hands. This was it. Ash was gone, and she was never going to see him again.

Why had he hid all that he accomplished, didn't he know that she would be proud of him?

Wait.

Was she proud?

With a dawning horror, Delia realized that no, she was not proud at all. In fact, she was terrified. Her worst nightmare was coming true. She would lose Ash, just like his father. But, he had accomplished such a great thing. Did it make her a horrible person for not feeling proud? But what about that brief comment he made? He said that he was intelligent, now that couldn't possibly be true.

However, how could Ash pass a ridiculously difficult exam if he wasn't intelligent? Thinking back, Delia compiled a mental list of things she had noticed about him. About how he would leave with finished homework, yet her teachers complained about torn and stained pages. (These would be from bullies that attacked Ash, even if Delia never noticed.)

And that one time she had visited him after he transferred to the Oak Labs, and she caught him reading a pokemon encyclopedia. She had laughed, thinking he was looking at all the cool pictures of pokemon, but what if he was actually reading it?

This spawned a whole new wave of tears. How horrible of a mother was she, if she projected her own hopes of his failure onto him, and allowed it to change the way she perceived him?

That night, Delia slept restlessly, depression not allowing her the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.

Ash briskly walked down the road to Professor Oak's lab. His emotions were a stormy mess inside of him right now, but he pushed them away. He knew that Delia wasn't accepting of his goals and aspirations, but he confronted her anyways. All he had wanted was a proper send-off. Pikachu chirped from his shoulder and rubbed soothing circles on his back with his tail. Sighing, Ash relaxed his tense shoulders. Pikachu was right, he was getting too emotional over a response that he had already anticipated.

Calmer than before, but still very upset, Ash walked into Professor Oak's lab. He was allowed to come and go as he pleased, and that privilege is what allowed Ash to go straight to his room here without a second glance from the other lab techs.

Ash lay on his bed, facing the ceiling with his arms crossed under his head and pikachu curled up to his side. In order to try and push away his sadness, Ash began to think about the last two years he had been working under Professor Oak.

Every day, he had been required to make food for the pokemon. He actually learned the correct nutritional needs for every single pokemon type, and eventually learned the nutritional quirks for certain individual pokemon. For example, he knew that the water type pokemon had to have a lot of limestone ground into their meals, but one particular azurill liked spicy food, so he had to add cheri berries to her food. One steel type he knew liked the sweetness of pecha berries as well.

Ash had then been required to begin his studies, unless there were any extenuating circumstances. A few times the professor had an injured pokemon, or one that needed rehabilitation. They were always more important than his studies, so Ash leaped in to help as much as he could.

The things he studied included basic nutrition, pokemon habitats, and pokemon biology. Ash learned just how the flame on a charmander's tail was lit, and where different pokemon's organs lay in the body. He studied how pokemon attacks were produced, and how the energy was transformed in the body.

While all of this was going on, Ash trained pikachu. His earlier theories about pokemon attack types were only getting stronger as he experimented with what pikachu could do. Pikachu was taught attacks like fire punch and ice punch at first, and then the list grew. Eventually, Ash was sure that he had the only pikachu in the world who could use dragon breath. Ash didn't discriminate against types. If it sounded interesting, he taught it to pikachu. However, no matter what he taught, pikachu's biology didn't change. So, Ash came up with another theory.

Pokemon could only get another typing when they evolved. Of course, the base typing did not change, but one could be added. A good example of this is the charmander line. Both charmander and charmeleon were fire types, but once charmeleon evolved into charizard, it gained the flying type attribute. The fire typing stayed, though, so the pokemon became dual-typed.

Ash believed that if he taught pikachu moves for a specific type, and even changed his diet to match that type, pikachu could become a different type upon evolution. Unfortunately for this theory, neither wanted that to happen. Both partners wanted pikachu to stay just that, a pikachu. And that was fine for them. Ash had explained his theories to Professor Oak, and he had just rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it sounds like you should start with a pichu then. They are the previous evolved form of pikachu, and are known for having an abundance of energy. They can't even control their huge amounts of electricity yet. Let me see what I can do for you…" And with that, the professor walked away.

Now, Ash was saddened, but fully prepared for his day tomorrow. He was excited, knowing that finally, he could go and live his dreams. It was with these thoughts that this young boy drifted away into slumber

Ash woke up early, as he had been conditioned to. The pokemon had to be fed early, and so Ash learned to wake up even without an alarm clock. He quickly took a shower, and rajusted his clothes for his journey. He wore a pair of lightwash blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a button up blue jacket with white short sleeves over it. He wore a specialty trainers belt, that was equipped with six slots to hold shrunken pokeballs. One slot was already filled with Pikachu's pokeball. Pikachu wasn't inside because he hated the feeling, so Ash never returned him. Really, buth didn't mind Pikachu perching on his shoulder.

Ash really wanted to carry more, but even with is title, he couldn't have more that six pokemon on him until after he had placed in a league. It was to show that he could handle that many pokemon. Of course, Professor Oak knew Ash was perfectly able to, after all, he had been caring for all the pokemon on the lab's ranch, but rules were rules.

Finally, Ash placed his red and white ball cap on his head with the Pokemon League logo facing forward over his brim. With ease, he threw his green backpack overhis shoulders and parched to the reception room where Professor Oak would be handing out starters to the newbie trainers.

He was the first to arrive, but that didn't bother him. The other trainers were due to show up at eight, and it was only 7:30. Professor Oak was already there, reading something on a clipboard. He looked up briefly when Ash walked in, but re-focused on the sheets in front of him.

The other three trainers trickled inside. The first was a girl named Leaf. She was a pretty blonde girl, and was someone Ash had never really spoken to, so he didn't know much about her. Next was Gary, who was Professor Oak's grandson. He had been one of Ash's tormentors before he had started working at the lab. He lived with his mother inside town, so funnily enough, never knew that Ash had been working here. He sneered at Ash as he walked in, but kept his mouth shut in front of his grandfather. He honestly believed that he was better than anyone else, especially Ash, and loved to say so in front of other people.

The last trainer came running in at the last second, huffing and puffing, earning a reproachful look from the professor. This trainer's name was Ritchie, and no one knew much about him. He was a trainer that came in from another town.

With that, Professor Oak cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Good morning, trainers, and congradulations for making it this far. But from now on, remember, you will be on your own behind me are three pokeballs, one for each of you. You will choose between charmander, bulbasaur, and squirtle. The order of choosing is determined by who showed up first. That means you, Leaf, are first."

Leaf walked up to the stand with the pokeballs, and looked between them. She picked up the pokeball with the green sticker on it, and released a bulbasaur in front of her.

"Congrats, Leaf, you have picked bulbasaur. They are strong with special attacks, and will serve you well. Next, Gary."

Gary strutted up and immediately snatched the pokeball with the blue sticker on it. A squirtle was released, and it puffed up its chest at its new owner.

"Gary, you have picked squirtle. They have a high defense, and can withstand the strongest of attacks. That leaves one more pokemon, charmander, and it belongs to you, Ritchie."

The boy gently picked up the pokeball with the red sticker, but didn't release the pokemon inside. He just walked out of the lab, presumably to meet his pokemon one-on-one.

"That leaves you, Ash. Technically, you already have a pokemon, but for tradition's sake, I have one for you here anyways. This one is special, though, and I'm sure you'll love it."

Professor Oak pushed a button on the pokeball stand and a fourth pokeball came up out of the middle. This one had a yellow sticker on the front. Ash reached out and picked up the ball, and proceeded to release the pokemon inside.

A pichu appeared, and it tilted its head cutely at Ash, before cuddling his leg. Ash knelt down and gently spoke to it.

"Hello, pichu, my name is Ash, and I'm going to be your new trainer."

"I know that you have a really good theory, Ash." Professor Oak interrupted. "So I figured I would help you along. This pichu was born only a few weeks ago, and only knows the attacks shock wave and tackle. Speaking of which…"

Professor Oak reached into his pocket and withdrew a pokedex. Most trainers get their pokedexes when they pass their trainer exam. It allows them to have time to figure out the mechanics and how to use it. Ash had gotten his two years ago, but he had recently given it to Professor Oak because the professor had said he wanted to update it. The professor handed it over.

"I updated it with pokemon and different attacks from other regions. It'll give you a bigger library of moves to use."

Ash pointed it at the still cuddling pichu and pressed the button.

"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokemon. A pre-evolved form of pikachu. Despite their size, Pichu release bursts of electricity that can shock even humans. However, pichu are unskilled at controlling their electricity, and sometimes release it by accident when surprised, or laughing, and shock themselves. This pichu is female and knows the moves shockwave and tackle."

Ash shut the red device, and turned to Professor Oak.

"Thank you so much, Professor. I dont know…"

"Oh, don't worry about it. You were such a help to me these past couple of years, and you've earned it."

Ash smiled and said his goodbyes. The professor waved to him as he set off. Although, he was the only person. No one was waiting for him outside of the lab, not even his mother. But Ash didn't let that get to him. He knew he was strong, and he knew that he has what it takes to be a Pokemon Master. In the end, that was all that mattered.

His spirits uplifted, Ash set off on a jaunty walk, talking to the yellow mouse on his shoulder, and the eve smaller mouse bouncing behind him.

"Pichu, you're new to the team, so let me tell you my goals. I'm going to be a Pokemon Master, and I'm going to have the strongest team this world has ever seen. Here's what I think…"

Ash explained his theories to the little pichu, and it nodded excitably. This trainer was so awesome, and knew a lot about pokemon. If she could be a unique pichu, one with special powers…well, we'll see. For now, she listened attentively to what he was saying.

"I think we'll start off with grass types. Electric types are weak to rock types, which are coincidentally the first gym in Pewter City. Grass types are strong against not only rock types, but water types as well. And water types are the second gym in Cerulean City. That will give us enough time to train you both up, and maybe even find a third teammate. So, Pichu, what do you say? Do you want to be a grass type?"

Pichu nodded enthusiasticly.

"Well, that's great! But the first thing we have to do is get you used to grass type energy. Pikachu, I need your help."

Pikachu hopped down off of Ash's shoulder and joined Pichu on the ground. They both looked at Ash expectantly.

"Pichu, I taught pikachu how to do an energy ball by transforming his inner energies into grass-type energies. Pikachu, I want you to begin teaching pichu how to transform his energies. Use his cheeks as a starting point. They are the main source of all energy-based attacks."

Pikachu pressed his cheeks against the little pichu and slowly formed an energy ball attack. Pichu did her best to absorb the information, and tried to do it on her own. Her result ended up being this tiny, lop-sided green and yellow jumble.

"That's good for a first try, Pichu. Keep working at it, and we'll be done before we even get to Viridian City!'

And so, Ash, Pikachu, and Pichu continued their way out of Pallet Town and onto Route 1, which would be the very start of their great adventure.


	3. An Adventure or Two

Later that day, ASh could be found setting up camp in a small clearing just off of Route 1. It was just about lunchtime and everyone was hungry. Pichu especially, as she had been practicing for a good few hours. Ash sat down and got to work. Pikachu's meal was the standard iron supplemented diet, with rawst berry for its bitter flavor. Pichu, on the other hand, was a special case. Ash planned on slowly weaning her off of an iron diet and onto one with leafy greens. In combination with the attack she had just about figured out, it would eventually, hopefully, convert her biological functions to that of a grass type. It helped, though, that pichu were already unstable when it came to their internal energies. That would make her transition much more quickly than, say, a squirtle which was much more stable

Pichu scarfed down her meal hungrily, especially the leafy greens. After expending all that grass type energy, her body now needed those nutrients to energize it. Pikachu ate at a much more sedate pace, but nonetheless, finished his bowl. Ash watched on fondly while he prepared some canned soup. He knew how to cook, but he didn't want to completely set up camp for that venture since he planned to spend the night in the Viridian City Pokemon Center.

Pokemon Centers were free four nights per week for every league registered pokemon trainer. If a trainer wasn't league registered, they had to pay for every night's stay. The reason is because league trainers bring a lot of capital to the pokemon industry. It was a way to convince travellers to become trainers, and to give back to the trainer community. Ash planned to stay the full four nights to train, and then make his way to Pewter City. His goal was to have Pichu battle ready, even if not evolved. He wanted Pichu a bit older before letting her evolve, and that would give him enough time to train her as a grass type before she, hypothetically, became one.

Ash made a note in his notebook about how much Pichu was eating, what she was eating, and how her biology was digesting it. Also, he noted the attacks she learned, much like pikachu. As of yet, there was no noticable difference, but he noted it down anyways. He planned to do this every time the group stopped for a break.

Ash quickly finished up his meal, and cleaned their temporary campsite of all dishes. They packed up and set off again, following Route 1 again. Pichu, coincidentally, managed to fire a perfect energy ball, and Ash paused to congratulate her and give her a pecha berry. Almost all baby pokemon loved their sweet flavor.

Briefly, they passed by a riverbank where a red-headed female trainer, maybe a year or two older than Ash, was fishing. Ash didn't want to bother her, so he was going to continue on his way, until she began reeling something out of the water. With a hard tug, the female trainer pulled what appeared to be another trainer out of the water. Ash remembered him, that was Ritchie, one of the other rookie trainers!

As he hacked up water on the bank, the red-headed trainer began to berate him.

"What do you think you're doing? This river is too dangerous to go swimming! There are schools of magikarp and…"

A ferocious roar coming from the direction of the water cut off her rant. A giant gyarados was rising from the surface of the water, his eyes almost glowing with rage.

"What did you do to it?" Redhead asked fearfully.

Ritchie replied, "I jumped in the river to avoid a flock of spearow. It carried me over a waterfall, and I landed on his head."

The two of them wished they had enough time to run, but sadly, the gyarados was already charging a hyperbeam. It fired and the two of them shut their eyes in anticipation, before..

"Pikachu, bounce it back with an iron tail, and follow it up with a thunderbolt."

A pikachu appeared from nowhere in front of the two trainers, his tail glowing a metallic silver. He turned it around and held it like a shield in front of his body, before literally reflecting the powerful attack back to its maker. The gyarados roared in pain, startled by the attack, which gave Pikachu plenty of time to fire off a thunderbolt. Injured, and fully cowed, the gyarados retreated to lick its wounds.

Meanwhile, the two trainers turned to face the boy who was slowly approaching. Richie lit up with recognition.

"Ah! You're the boy who was at Professor Oak's when I got Zippo! I thought you were just another lab tech."

The female trainer just eyed the proceedings with interest, especially when that powerful pikachu bounded up to him and nuzzled a greeting. A pichu was also there, hovering just behind the trainer's leg.

Ash decided to speak up. "Hi, my name is Ash. Yeah, I'm a lab tech, if only an honorary one. However, I'm actually a trainer too. Pichu here is my official starter, if not actually my first pokemon. I'm glad I was able to help you guys."

That was when Redhead spoke up. "Yeah, whatever. That gyarados was pretty weak. I bet I could have taken him out easy if it wasn't for this guy," she gestured to Ritchie, "distracting me. Listen, I'm out of here. Try not to disturb any more pokemon, will you?"

She stomped off in a huff, obviously in a mood, and both male trainers shrugged their shoulders. PMS, maybe? Well, whatever.

Ritchie then looked slightly awkward. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way, too Thanks for the help. Just, ah, be careful of any spearow. I did have a flock chasing me, and the gyarados probably scared them off, but they might come back."

He ran off in the direction of the female trainer, and disappeared into the treeline.

Ash decided to follow, but at a much more sedate pace. Pichu was trying to consistently fire perfect energy balls, so Ash and Pikachu needed to walk a little slower so she could keep up. It was still early in the day, so there was plenty of time to reach Viridian.

Four hours later, just as the sun was touching the horizon, The little pack of travellers had reached their destination, and they stood in front of the Pokemon Center's sliding doors. Pichu was cuddled in Ash's arms, exhausted after a hard day's work, but feeling satisfied with her progress. Energy ball had been learned and practiced until she had it down pat. Ash had given her a break and let her rest the last hour or so of their walk. Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulders, pleased with his pupil's success.

They checked into the Pokemon Center, and Ash took the time to register for the league. The nurse on duty, a pink-haired young woman by the name of Nurse Joy, confirmed his registration and gave him a room key for the night. Ash didn't feel the need to have his pokemon healed, since they hadn't received any battle damaged. Pichu was tired, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed by some food and a nice long rest.

Ash carefully prepared their meals, and was surprised when Pichu requested more greenery in his meal, and less iron. Nevertheless, he complied, but made a special note of it in his notebook. Why was Pichu transitioning so easily? Was it because she was so young? Maybe she was accepting the energy transition because her body was still so malleable. Regardless, Ash was beginning to see progress in his theories. The best part was that even Pichu was happy with it! She wasn't hurt by anything he was doing, and genuinely seemed interested in transitioning to a grass type. So, take that Pokeactivists!

The next morning, Ash began training again. Since Pichu had the feel of grass-type energy down, Ash didn't need Pikachu for a demonstration and sent him to do some conditioning. Pikachu would be sprinting around the clearing and doing repetitive attacks to improve his stamina. Meanwhile, Ash was going to be teaching Pichu another move. He wanted Pichu to practice the new attack, then join Pikachu in conditioning, before going back to the attack and so on and so forth. That would give Pichu time to rest certain parts of his physiology while exercising another. The attack Pichu would be learning today is solar beam. To do this attack, pokemon need to absorb the energy from the sun, like plants do, and convert it into a beam of energy that is released from the mouth.

By learning this attack, and essentially mimicking a plant, Ash hoped that Pichu would begin developing the plant-like organs that all grass type pokemon have. Pichu couldn't learn moves like vine whip, or razor leaf, because she didn't have those organs yet. With any hope, conditioning the body would allow it to develop these new features over time. Not only that, but it would give Pichu some break time. She has never been introduced to a hard-core workout, and would need the breaks that the meditative solar beam practice would give her.

And so, that was how the day passed. Pichu firing incomplete solar beams at the forest surrounding their training ground helpfully provided by the Pokemon Center, and Pikachu sharpening his agility. Speaking of which…

"Hey, both of you, take a break and come here!" Ash called out to his team.

Pichu fired off the solar beam she had been charging, and it shot off almost perfectly. Pikachu slowed down from where he had been using agility to bounce between different trees. They trotted over to Ash and listened attentively.

"Listen, so Pichu is going to be evolving eventually, and I plan on training up more pikachus, so I can't just keep calling you by your species' names, otherwise we're all going to become confused."

The two yellow mice nodded, understanding the predicament. Immediately, they started chattering their ideas to Ash, except it was, of course, in their language.

"Alright, Alright, that's enough. Pikachu, I think I'll call you...Thor. Supposedly, he is a god who can control lightning and call it down from the heavens. I think it's fitting, especially since you are a standard electric-type pikachu, if only with a few extra moves." Ash winked, and the clearing erupted in laughter.

"Pichu, you're going to be a bit more difficult. I want to find a grass name that fits you. One day you'll be a beautiful lady, so...that's it! We'll call you Persephone. Sephy for short. She is the goddess of new spring growth, and I think that fits you perfectly!"

They both seemed to like their new names, and Ash counted it as a job well done. There was still another hour or two of daylight left, so Ash sent them back to their practice, helping them whenever he could. Really, Thor just needed something to target his attacks at, which made it a game for the two of them, and Persephone just needed a few kind words of approval. Receiving a new name seemed to bolster her confidence, and solar beam became a piece of cake for her. Again, once they finished up, Ash made them their special food, noted both of their progress, and they all went to bed.

The next three days went pretty much the same way. Sephy would learn a new move and alternate with physical exercise, and Thor just did physical only. Ash had tied weights to his limbs, including his tail, and sent him to do laps one day, to improve his musculature. Persephone learned grass knot, and two status moves. She learned aromatherapy and ingrain. Ash wanted his teammate to not only cure herself, but to cure others on her team as well. All in all, it was a successful time spent in Viridian, and on the last day, they all hiked off onto Route 2, through the Viridian Forest. Ash thought he had seen a red-haired head following in the distance, but whenever he turned to look, it disappeared. It didn't bother him, as long as she didn't try to approach. He figured her stalking had something to do with the abundance of bug types in this forest, along with the screaming he randomly heard behind him.

They trekked through the forest, and actually spent quite a bit of time there. There were a few trainers scattered about, and Ash stopped a few times so he could get battling experience for Persephone. One such event was especially memorable.

It started when he had a sword thrust in his face, inches from his nose, wielded by what looked like a kid in armor.

"Halt, and state your business, traveller. Would you happen to be the fourth trainer from Pallet town?"

Ash didn't respond to the sword in his face, and calmly pushed it away.

"Yeah, I am. Who told you that?"

"A trainer by the name of Gary Oak. He said that the last trainer from Pallet Town would be a loser slowpoke named Ash Ketchum. Now answer me, will you accept a battle?"

Now, Ash was pretty insulted. Gary was an immature brat, yes, but by calling him a loser, it was like completely ignoring all of the work he and his pokemon did every day.

"Yes, I accept your challenge."

"Good, we shall begin then."

The armored kid, appropriately named Samurai, as Ash had discovered, walked a few paces away so that there was an area about the same size of a standard league battlefield between them. As there was no referee, they decided to do a one-on-one battle, to try and make it fair. Samurai started by releasing a pinsir, and Ash sent Sephy ahead.

"I shall start then, trainer. Pinsir, use tackle!"

The large bug stomped forward with surprising speed.

"Sephy, evade him with agility like Thor taught you to!" The mouse quickly dodged, and continued to stay out of range.

"Good, Sephy, stay out of his range. His horns will squeeze the life out of you if they catch you. Try a grass knot to trip him up." Persephone complied, and several fronds of grass rapidly grew and entangled themselves around pinsir.

"Oh no, pinsir!" cried Samurai, "Try and break through with your strength!"

The bug squirmed and flexed his horns, and a few grass fronds could be heard snapping.

"Quick, Sephy, use a solar beam." Samurai's eyes bugged.

The attack fired right as the pinsir managed to free himself. The light from solar beam washed through the clearing, and when it faded, pinsir was lying on the ground, a little scorched, and Persephone was bouncing in place. When it looked like the bug wasn't going to get up anytime soon, Samurai sighed and recalled him.

"Good try, pinsir. Who would have thought?"

Meanwhile pichu had bounced up to Ash and gave him a big hug, which was happily returned.

"Good job, Sephy! You won your first battle!" Persephone giggled happily.

Samurai approached and spoke. "Well done, trainer. Perhaps you are not a failure as the other had thought? Well, regardless, I would like to know how it is that your pichu fired a solar beam?"

"Actually, it's an experiment of mine. I'm trying to see if I can turn pichu into a grass type by the time it evolves." Saamurai looked thoughtful at this.

"Very interesting. Perhaps I will see you around? I will definitely pay attention to the league. I have a feeling about you."

With that, Samurai walked off. Ash, having no reason to stick around, began his journey again. The path through Viridian Forest was a long one, and travellers frequently became lost.

Many times, Ash had battled with Persephone, and every time, she won. In some ways, Ash found it funny that he had baffled so many different trainers with Sephy's unique set of moves. And as they traveled, Ash trained her in even more moves. She practiced her learned moves a little every day, but Ash also taught her speed-related attacks. Persephone had just mastered agility before the battle with Samurai, and afterwards, she began with quick attack.

One of the main calling cards of the pikachu line were their speed. Ash wanted to take advantage of that, so he made sure that as cute as Sephy could be sometimes, in battle, she turned into a vexing little speed demon that knocked her opponents' socks off.

But, after two weeks of camping out in the forest, their little group arrived at the gates of Pewter City, a little dusty and plenty tired, but happy at all of the things they had accomplished. Thor had learned extreme speed, alongside Persephone who learned agility, quick attack, and solar blade, which was used like an iron tail. Sephy gathered solar energy in her tail and smacked her opponents around with it. It really was quite cute, how ferocious she could be…

Ash had decided to settle into the Pokemon Center for the night, and gave his team to Nurse Joy for healing. He strictly told her that they were on special diets, and that he would feed them his special blend. Nurse Joy, having seen this kind of thing from elite trainers, wasn't surprised and happily agreed.

Nurse Joys in general were always happy and more than willing to accommodate the trainers that passed through. For some strange reason, there was a genetic quirk among them that made them all have pink hair and similar features. Although it hadn't been proved yet, most trainers believed that all of the nurses did their makeup to slightly alter their bone structure so even their faces looked identical.

Anyways, while Ash was feeding his pokemon, he noticed something peculiar. Persephone's fur was beginning to turn a shade of green that had been unnoticable in the dim forest lighting, and her ears and tail were straightening and becoming rounded. Ash, excited about this development, noted everything he noticed into his notebook while exclaiming about her progress. Not only that, but at this point, Sephy was only eating the standard amount of iron naturally found in her food, without any extra purposefully added in. She was eating completely like a grass type. Quite frankly, Ash hadn't expected these stages until months down the line, or after she had evolved. The fact that she was progressing this quickly spoke volumes about just how adaptable pokemon really were.

After all the excitement had died down, Ash decided it was bedtime. They all had to get up early tomorrow. After all, a gym badge was on the line.


	4. Pewter City

That next morning, Ash stood at the foot of a large, rock-shaped building. This was the Pewter City Pokemon Gym. It was here that he would win his very first badge, and it was here that his training would be put to the test. Could a pichu who knows grass-type moves use them as effectively as a naturally-born grass-type? There was only one way to find out.

Ash marched into the gym and looked around. The lights were off, but Ash could still vaguely see medium-sized dark blurs, presumably boulders, scattered around.

"Who goes there?" Echoed in the dark, before the lights were flicked on.

On the other side of the field, a dark-skinned teenager, maybe sixteen or so, sat on one of the boulders. He jumped down, and approached Ash.

"I am Brock, the Pewter City Pokemon Gym Leader. May I ask your name and purpose for being here?"

Ash replied, "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet, and I am here to challenge you for a badge.

"Very well," Brock stated. "The rules are two on two. Only the challenger may switch out their pokemon. The winner receives a gym badge."

Ash agreed to the terms and they both went to the trainer boxes on either side of the battlefield.

It was a rock field, with a sandy floor and boulders scattered around. It was probably the size of a soccer field, give or take a few feet, with solid red lines around as a border. There was also a red line bisecting the field in the middle, with a small circular area clearly defined. This was the standard pattern for most official battlegrounds.

A league official affiliated with the gym walked over and took his place off to the side of the field, right next to the dividing line.

"This will be a two-on-two pokemon battle between Brock the Pewter City Gym Leader and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Only the challenger may use substitutions. The battle is over when one pokemon has fainted or has been forfeited. The winner recieves a gym badge. Now, let the battle begin!"

Brock quickly withdrew a pokeball and threw it to reveal…

"Geodude! Prepare for battle!"

Ash responded by sending out Thor. "Thor, it's your turn first!"

Thor bounded to the middle of the battlefield and stood about fifteen feet from Geodude. He didn't have much time to dwadle, for Brock immediately began throwing out commands.

"Geodude, start off with rock throw! It's an electric type, so it can't use any special attacks. Let's slow it down."

The pokemon proceeded to throw boulders at Thor, who proceeded to dodge neatly without having been ordered. Pikachu were quick, there was no projectile attack that could catch them at the top of their game.

"Great job, pikachu. Keep dodging. Use agility to try and get in close."

The mouse bounced around, using the scattered rocks as a grip. Geodude continued to throw rocks, and Brock was getting frustrated.

"Geodude, match speed for speed. Use rollout!"

Geodude curled into a ball and started barreling towards Thor. The thing about rollout, though, is that the longer it goes on, the faster it goes. Unfortunately, that means that it's reflex and turning speed due to its velocity became slower. Ash, realizing this, came up with a plan.

"Pikachu, lead it around with agility!"

And so, the battle became a game of cat and mouse, or rather, rock and mouse. Brock didn't know what the challenger was up to, but he figured that either the pikachu would get tired, or Geodude would become quick enough to catch it.

Ash was just waiting until the two were in the right position, and…

"Alright Thor, wait for him to come for you!"

Brock looked at Ash like he was crazy, and Geodude quickly covered ground. At the last second, Ash said, "Thor, dodge into iron tail!"

The mouse pokemon jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the path of the barreling rock type, and Brock's eyes widened in horror as soon as he realized what was going on.

"Geodude, turn around!"

But it was too late. Geodude propelled himself into the rocky wall of the gym, having been rolling too fast to alter his course. While he was dazed, and not moving, Pikachu charged up an iron tail and whacked him on the head, knocking him unconscious.

"The leader's pokemon is unable to battle. Please send out your last pokemon," cried the official.

Brock grimaced as he withdrew his geodude. How in the hell did a newbie trainer have a pikachu with iron tail? That was a move standard in the Johto leagues, but not here. Not only that, it was pretty difficult to learn. It required both physical conditioning and energy conditioning in order to pull off. Well, no matter. His next pokemon was sure to win.

"Go, Onix!"

A giant snake made of rough-looking boulders appeared and roared. Ash called back Thor and sent in Persephone, much to Brock's stunned surprise. Ash had wanted to include his very first pokemon in his first gym battle, as a kind of ritual thing. That's why he sent him in for the first pokemon, which was always weaker than the last. Sure, Thor could sweep this gym no problem, especially with the variety of moves he had learned the past couple of years, but Ash wanted to prove something. He wanted Persephone, his weakest pokemon, to come out on top using the variety of grass moves Ash had taught her, and he wanted it to be against Brock's strongest opponent.

"You're going to regret that mistake, rookie. Onix, use bind!"

The rock snake proceeded to try and wrap his coils around the little pichu, but Ash wasn't having it.

"Sephie, use agility, then grass knot!"

Little Persephone weaved between the coils, Onix's rocky skin barely managing to brush her. Meanwhile, grassy fronds broke their way through the surface of the floor, and started to tie up the snake. Brock, sensing a problem, screamed, "Onix, dig!"

The rock type dug its way into the floor with surprising grace, leaving Persephone standing alone on the surface.

"Sephie, move around! Don't let him target you! Use-"

Onix rammed his head through the floor and nailed poor Persephone right in her stomach. She flew into the air and cried out in pain.

"Persephone!"Ash cried. "Try and fire an energy ball!"

The little mouse mustered up enough energy to fire off the attack before she hit the ground, causing Onix to fall back and let out a painful roar. Ash saw that Onix was stunned, and shaking off the damage, so he yelled, "Persephone, use solar beam while he's stunned!"

Sephie started charging up her solar beam, but it was a little too slow.

"Onix, use rock throw!" cried Brock.

Boulders, bigger than Geodude's had been, were hailing down on Persephone. At the very last second, the solar beam fired.

There was a large smoke cloud, lit from within by the lingering light from the solar energy. When the dust cleared, Onix could be seen sprawled out at the feet of a trembling, damaged, but clearly still conscious pichu.

The official cried, "Gym Leader Brock's pokemon is unable to battle. The challenger is the winner!"

Ash yelled out and punched the air, while Sephie chattered happily. Thor bounded towards Persephonie, Ash on his tail, and they all embraced.

"Good work, Persephone, you've won us our first gym battle."

In the midst of their celebration, a perplexed Brock stood in his trainer's box on his side of the field, staring down at his pokeball which contained the recently recalled onix.

What had just happened? Did a baby Pichu just take down a fully grown onix? Where did the grass type moves come from? As far as he was aware, pikachu, not to mention pichu, couldn't learn solar beam. Where the hell did this kid come from? That kind of ability...it was frightening. Was this kid some kind of ghost?

Stuck in his thoughts, Brock missed it when Ash began approaching him, and only looked up when he stopped a few feet away.

Brock cleared his throat. "Well done, Ash. You have earned the Boulder Badge."

Brock handed over the trinket and watched as the scary kid began to coo at it. Cue sweatdrop.

"Anyways, I was wondering how it is you trained a pichu to use grass type attacks?"

As Ash began to explain his theories, Brock listened attentively. The things this kid was saying...Brock could learn a thing or two. But when he began to talk about his pokemon's diet, Brock joined in, and they both began conversing excitedly, trading nutritional information and just enjoying the company of someone with similar interests. That was when an older man burst into the room.

"I followed this kid. He walked into a rock type gym with two baby electric type pokemon, and smashed it to smithereens. I thought he was going to fail, I didn't even consider him worthy of attention. But he…"

The older man shook his head despondently, while Ash and Brock eyed him with confusion.

Who was this? Where did he come from?

That is, until the man removed the fake beard and mustache he had been wearing, along with the beanie on his head. Brock lit up with recognition.

"I'm sorry, Brock, for being a failure."

The man turned out to be Brock's father, who had left all of his children, who some had been infants at the time, with an eleven year old Brock. The man had wished to travel like a trainer, and Brock had been left in the dust to manage his seven other siblings and the gym by himself. Said siblings would have been watching the match, but apparently, a rookie trainer had come in with a charmander and set off all of the sprinklers. His siblings had gotten colds from their impromptu showers, and were now being monitored by Nurse Joy.

The old man spoke. "Brock, I tried to fulfil my dreams, and I failed. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't fulfil yours."

Ash didn't want to stick around for the personal conversation that was sure to come, so he hiked back to the Pokemon center to get his pokemon healed up. Apparently, all Nurse Joys share information, because he didn't have to mention his feeding preferences at all. She automatically said she would let him handle it, as would all future Nurse Joys he visited. Huh, convenient.

After lunch, Ash and his team had a bunch of free time. Ash decided that since they did so well today, especially Sephy, that they could take today off from training. Instead, they decided to visit the daycare room inside the Center, which also functioned as a pokemon play area for smaller pokemon. Once there, the group found that they were not the first to arrive.

Several children were running around, laughing, and just altogether having a good time. Ash could see a little girl squealing as she slid down the slide. Two little boys were playing on a teeter-totter, and others were playing a chasing game, like tag. There were also a few smaller pokemon, like poliwag and rattata, joining in the fun.

"Pika-pi!"

"Pichu"

Ash looked down with amusement, only to see two pairs of pleading eyes looking up at him. He smiled and shooed them towards the play area. They bounded off, both emitting squeals of joy, and seamlessly blended into the groups already playing.

The trainer proceeded to sit down on one of the benches surrounding the play area, happy to just sit and watch his pokemon relax and have fun.

It was really funny, Ash mused, to watch his pokemon play with small children. Both were powerful pokemon, each with the ability to cause serious damage, but looking at them playing, you could see none of that. They just looked like cute babies, like the rest of the pack. Appearances could really be deceiving.

Noticing someone sitting next to him from the corner of his eye, Ash looked up only to see Brock. The rock type trainer looked straight ahead, focusing on the children playing.

"You know, most of those children are my brothers and sisters."

Ash kept quiet, content to let Brock say his piece.

"My father left several years ago for a dream, and left me in charge of them. We hadn't heard from him since, and the littlest ones only know his face from pictures. I was their mother, father, teacher, and altogether caregiver. Those kids, and my gym, are my life.

"My father had been lingering nearby for months, but somehow, he was drawn back because of you, the little enigma. He saw something in you, watching you battle, but he also saw something in me. He saw that I was content, but not happy. He told me that I should go out to live my dream, and succeed where he failed."

Brock turned to face Ash this time, and looked straight in his eyes. Apparently finding what he was looking for, Brock smiled.

"Ash, I would like to ask you if I could join you on your journey. My dream is to become a pokemon breeder, and I feel like there is no better place to live it than by your side. Will you allow me to come with you?"

Ash thought about Brock's words. He knew that the path he traveled would be hard, and it would require a lot of trial and error, but he also knew that Brock could help him. The older teen practically lived for pokemon health and biology, and that could be quite a bit of help. Also, Ash was getting a bit lonely. Sure, he could talk to his pokemon, but he couldn't understand their words. It would be nice to have a human to talk to in-between cities.

"Sure, Brock. You're more than welcome to come along. We'll be more than happy to have you."

They both smiled and turned back around to watch both their families play, content to leave the conversation at that. They would have been perfectly fine sitting there while the children played, but unfortunately, not everything panned out the way they would have wanted it to.

An explosion was heard from the Pokemon Center lobby, and both trainers jumped to their feet.

"Ash, go see what's going on. I'll get the kids out of here!" yelled Brock.

Ash didn't even have to call his team over, for both were already at his feet waiting for orders. Ash sprinted out of the play room, Persephone and Thor on his heels, and came up to a disturbing site.

Nurse Joy was trapped in a corner by two pokemon, an ekans and a koffing, while two people, presumably their trainers, were shovelling pokeballs into a large sack. A meowth stood at their feet, curiously only balanced on his hind paws.

"Hurry up, Jesse, before Officer Jenny gets here." said one trainer, an eighteen year old male with straight, shoulder-length baby blue hair.

"Quiet, James, I'm shoveling as fast as I can." grumbled the other trainer, a female of the same age with ridiculously long brilliant red hair, styled in a downward arc from the crown of her head down to her thighs.

Both were wearing white uniforms with black gloves and boots. Jesse's was a crop-top shirt with a miniskirt, while james had a plain shirt and pants. Both, however, had a giant red letter "R" sewed onto their tops.

It was Team Rocket, notorious pokemon thieves who had their paws in both Kanto and Johto. Ash boiled in fury, but before he could say anything, said thieves noticed his presence.

"Well, look what we have here, a little baby trainer with little baby pokemon." said Jesse with a mocking tone.

"It looks like we get to ruin more than just these pokemon today, we get a playtoy." James added.

Ash didn't rise to their taunting; he was better than that. Instead, he chose diplomacy.

"Hand over the pokemon you've just stolen and abandon your heist, and I might go easy on you."Well, looks like the baby wants to play." Jessie spat.

"Then let's play" screamed James. "Koffing, use smokescreen!"

"Ekans, use poison sting!"

Both pokemon abandoned their post by Nurse Joy in order to battle, and she ran around the corner out of the lobby. Ash sent forwards his two pokemon.

"Thor, Persephone, dodge and use agility. Thor, use sand attack to lower their defense. Sephie, keep throwing out energy balls to cover Thor!"

Strangely enough, the Rocket pokemon didn't put a lot of effort into their attacks, and both Jesse and James weren't doing much either, too busy yelling obscenities and reprimanding their pokemon. Meanwhile, the meowth was still shovelling pokeballs.

Ash used the cover of the smokescreen to sneak over, and grabbed the pokemon by the scruff. Of course, he almost dropped the pokemon when it yelled, "Yeowtch! Watch the fur!"

Luckily managing to keep his hold, Ash dragged the cat pokemon back to the battle and threw him into the thick of things. It was time to step it up a notch.

"Thor, use flamethrower!"

Unfortunately, Ash forgot that a smokescreen attack contained highly flammable chemicals. So, instead of blazing a path through the smoke, the fire ignited the entire cloud into a fiery bomb, which exploded through the ceiling while taking the perpetrators with it. A faint scream of, "We're blasting off again!" was heard, and Ash took a moment to ponder when, exactly, the three crooks had exploded off into the sunset before.

Nevertheless, the Center was now in ruins, but all of the pokemon they had been attempting to steal were still present, thankfully.

Nurse Joy came back around to the front, still shaky, and explained, "I wanted to check in on the children. I'm sorry for abandoning you like that, but I don't really have any combat skills anyways."

Ash waved her off; he hadn't thought she was a problem anyways. Just then, Brock and the pack of kids, guarded closely by his onix and geodude, came around the corner and swarmed Ash. Trainer, Breeder, and Nurse all had a laugh, glad that no one was hurt. Just then, a golden light could be seen illuminating the sky, tracing a path through the heavens. A majestic bird pokemon flapped elegantly at its head, and Ash noticed it turn its eyes to his own. A feeling swept through him, mapping his very core, before the presence withdrew. Slowly, a single rainbow feather drifted gently downwards and rested in his hands. The group was speechless.

The next day, Ash and Brock stood at the entrance to Route 3, heading towards Mt. Moon. They waved goodbye to Nurse Joy, who was seeing them off, and the hotel matron who had booked them for the night. As the Center had been closed due to damages, all three had stayed with the kindly old woman, who thankfully was gracious enough to let them check in late. All three had been thoroughly interrogated by Officer Jenny, and it had been fairly late before they were dismissed.

Officer Jenny, funnily enough, was like Nurse Joy. She also had a family full of identicals, and she was also under scrutiny by trainers about the makeup thing. I suppose it was a mystery that would never have an answer…

"So, Ash, are you sure you'll be ok with it?" Brock asked.

He was referring to the little present Nurse Joy had gifted him in exchange for his help. It was a yellow pokemon egg, with two brownish stripes that wrapped around it. Ash had a feeling he knew what would hatch, but he would find out for sure in about a week, according to the nurse. For now, it was kept safe in his backpack, wrapped snuggly in a warm blanket.

Brock spoke again. "Hey, do you realize someone is following us?"

He was referring to the bobbing red head some distance behind them.

"Yeah, just leave her be. She'll introduce herself when she's ready."

With that said, the two travelers and pokemon continued their way into the forest, eager to start their next adventure. The feather from before hung from a cord around Ash's neck, as he felt the feather was the beginning of a new mystery, where he was at the core.


	5. Mt Moon, with Surprises

Ash and Brock were walking down Route 3, just enjoying the scenery. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the forest path was quiet. Unlike Route 2, which was practically infested with bug pokemon, Route 3 was mostly clear of any pokemon. The reason being was because this was the route leading to Mt. Moon.

You see, Mt. Moon was famous for its abnormally strong collection of pokemon, which could only be found on the mountain. Due to that, most pokemon tended to steer clear of the area around the base, knowing that the pokemon farther up would hunt them as prey. Instead, they tended to take refuge inside, taking comfort in all of the misleading maze-like corridors with rock-hard walls as protection. There were even some places where smaller pokemon could slip between cracks in case there was a need to hide quickly.

While Mt. Moon was a haven for prey pokemon, to travelers, it could be a nightmare. Trainers passing through easily could get lost inside the tunnels, especially since they were always changing. Rock pokemon used the rock walls as a food source, as well as a training tool. They thrived off the mineral compounds that made up the stone, and it also helped toughen and gradually harden their rocky skin.

Ash, in particular, wanted to head through Mt. Moon in order to find some evolution stones. You see, Persephone had been on the brink of evolving lately, and after consulting Brock, he figured that giving the small pichu a grass-type evolutionary stone might help give that last push into fully becoming a grass type. Already, Sephy's fur was a bright green, and his ears vaguely leaf-shaped. Not only that, but it was rumored that moonstone could be found in the depths of the caverns. They were exceptionally rare, and helpful whether Ash sold it for money, or used it to evolve a pichu later on into a fairy type.

Soon enough, the two travellers made it to the entrance, only to raise their guard when a man came running out of the cave screaming for help.

"Help, somebody! The zubat have gone nuts!"

Sure enough, behind him a cloud of purple bats with sharp teeth came out behind him, screeching with high-pitched noises and attacking in a tornado of purple wings. Ash just held his face in his hand, Brock looking up at the sky with an expression that said, 'why me?'

Zubat were a nuisance, sure, but they were near enough harmless untrained and in the wild. Their screeches hadn't been developed into an attack yet, and they couldn't learn any poisonous moves without access to a grass type pokemon, or a poisonous plant.

Ash just gestured Thor forward, and one thundershock later, the cloud of bats lay stunned on the ground. They weren't seriously hurt, just paralyzed for a few moments. Ash would never seriously hurt a pokemon as long as it was no threat to him or those around him. As soon as the man noticed that his pursuers were disabled, he ran over, lab coat fluttering in the wind, and gave Ash a hug.

"Oh, thank you young traveler! The zubat have been rather agitated lately, and I'm afraid I startled them."

Ash, not really knowing what to do, just took the hug stiffly until the man backed away. He then coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"There's no need to thank me, I'm sure they would have given up eventually and gone home soon."

Meanwhile, Brock was observing the bats, taking note of their extreme agitation, combined with the signs of sleep deprivation. Ash, noticing Brocks lack of attention, focused his gaze on the bats as well. What he saw didn't sit well with him.

"Brock…" Ash started.

"I know, Ash, and whoever did this needs to be taught a lesson or two.

The strange man piped up with, "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

Brock knelt down on the ground next to a zubat who was slowly sitting up. The poor thing looked exhausted.

"Sir, look at these zubat. They barely have any energy, and their skin is so dry. I promise you, this wasn't from the thunderbolt earlier, this looks like long term abuse."

The rest of the zubat were struggling to sit up, clearly in a poor state of health. Brock fished out a large bowl he had packed for cooking, and filled it with a gallon jug of water. Cerulean city was right on the other side of the cave, so the two of them were hardly going to run out of water anytime soon. He then mixed in a little bit of nutrient powder.

The zubat all scattered around the entrance perked up and teetered over to the bowl. They all took turns getting a drink, while Ash spritzed them with a little water sprayer bottle he had prepared while Brock was filling the bowl. They seemed to bask in the moisture, the cracked veins in their wings seemed to be soothed by the cool water. MEanwhile, the strange man watched all of this in contemplation, before speaking up.

"I'm sorry," he spoke quietly. "I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Seymore, and I am a pokemon scientist. Unknown to most, there is a rare species of pokemon living in these caves. Those pokemon would be the clefairy evolutionary line."

Ash and Brock sharply sucked in a breath. Clefairy weren't just rare, they were almost legendary. No one knew much about them, other than the fact that they were a fairy type, and lived in seclusion. The stories say that the species flew in from outer space a long time ago, and now prospered on Earth, only coming out of their seclusion for the rare trainer who earned their trust.

"I see you know how serious this is, then," continued Seymore. "If anyone found out about my particular brand of research, then trouble would befall these caves. Unfortunately, I fear that may have already happened."

Both trainers focused their attention almost completely on Seymore, aside from the small bit they directed towards the zubat. They were now taking turns playing in the bowl, flapping about and splashing water all over the place. A few baby zubat that had come along attached to their mother's backs were now climbing on the duo, seeming to enjoy themselves. The two of them shared a small smile, not minding the adorable flying pups, and even Seymore seemed to pause for a moment to give the two impromptu babysitters a small smirk.

"I had to head home about a week ago due to a family emergency, and I only returned a day or so ago to see complete chaos in the caves. There were lights strung up along the walls of the caverns, drying out the inside of the cave and, what I suspect, taking away any chance of rest for the poor zubat. I can hear machinery deep inside, echoing throughout the cavern. What I need to ask you, is if you can help me investigate. There hasn't been enough time for whoever is down there to have gathered many resources, but I don't think I can afford to waid any longer. Any moment now whoever is down there could find the clefairy, and I need the help of you two trainers to apprehend the perpetrators. Can you help me?"

Seymore was almost begging by the end of his speech, even though he had no need to. As soon as Ash and Brock had seen the state of the zubat, they knew they would be getting involved.

Ash was the one who spoke for them, seeing as how Brock was trying his best to untangle a little tiny baby zubat from his vest.

"Sure, Seymore. We don't mind. In fact, you may have just gotten lucky. Brock here is a pokemon breeder, and I'm a Junior Pokemon Researcher."

That bit of news was a surprise for both Seymore and Brock, but they didn't comment for now, content just to know that Ash wasn't just a rookie trainer. Brock, meanwhile, had given up on detaching the baby zubat. The mother of that particular zubat, when asked for help, simply gave the breeder a pointed look and nuzzled her baby, then turned away. Brock, amazed at his fortune, laughed.

"Well, I guess I've got myself a new pokemon."

Now seeing that Brock wasn't trying to move her anymore, she used her little thumb hooks to climb into Brock's vest pocket, then promptly fell asleep. The trio all chuckled, then put on a brave face.

"We need to get inside, there's no point in delaying the inevitable," said Brock.

Ash and Seymore nodded, before Seymore took the lead and guided the two trainers into the cave.

An unknown amount of time later, the three of them stood in an alcove near the cavern where all of the machinery seemed to be operating. They would have gotten here earlier, but all three stopped every now and then to spray a dehydrated pokemon with the water bottle. It wouldn't relieve their thirst, but it would help soothe their dried-out skin.

Ash crept forward first, knowing that as he was the smallest, he would be the most hidden out of the three of them. With trepidation, he peeked around the corner, and was horrified at what he saw.

A gigantic drill was sitting in the cavern, currently pointed at an expanse of wall. Nearby, a couple of plastic fold-out tables were supporting expensive-looking machinery. A gigantic stone, glowing softly despite the harsh light from the light bulb strands on the walls, was sitting on a trailer, obviously having been prepared for transportation. Huddled together at one of the tables were three familiar figures. Jesse, James, and Meowth.

Ash cursed, and retreated back to the alcove. The three converged, and began to formulate a game plan. With any luck, they would succeed.

Thor was sent out first, in order to short out as many lights as he could. He crept out, and began to chew on the largest wire he could find. Luckily, not only did it take out most of the lights, but some of the machinery as well.

"Look at what you've done, James! I told you not to mess with it! What would Pietri think?"

"I didn't do it! A pokemon must have pulled a cable or something. Let's go check it out."

"Stop ya yammerin, ya numbskulls, and just go figure it out!"

The three then crept around, following the path of the cables from the back of their system. Apparently, they didn't even know their own blueprints, but whatever. Pikachu was bouncing around, sticking to the shadows, and steadily disabling every electrical wire he could find. Team Rocket didn't seem to notice, as they were still bickering amongst themselves.

"Whoevah thought it'd be a good idea to leave ya in charge of this laboratory must be crazy. Yous two can't even find the backs of ya hands," stated Meowth.

"Shut up, cat, and just figure out the problem," countered Jesse.

James piped up with, "Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad the boss trusts us with such an important task. To think, he calls Pietri off this assignment on such short notice, and puts us in? Why he must really like us!"

Ash took a note of their conversation and pushed it to the back of his head to deliberate later. Something about their conversation seemed suspicious, but there was no time to question it.

Next, it was Brock's turn to act. Brock was to sneak around the trio and release his geodude once out of view in order to take out the other exits, if only temporary, in order to inhibit the Rocket team's escape. Ash was next, in order to distract them from the rest of the trainers' doings. Since the Rocket Trio was already familiar with him, Ash was a prime target to battle. Especially since they were relatively poor battles, and easily handled by the Junior Professor.

Seymore was the last to act. He had one of the most important jobs. He was to sneak to the terminal the criminals were using, and attempt to extract any information he could. Although the power was out, generally systems like that kept data chips, in order to preserve any data in the case of a power outage.

Once Brock was in position, Ash leapt out of his hiding spot, joined by Thor, and confronted them, drawing their attention away from their surroundings.

"Team Rocket! I thought I saw the last of you in Viridian City!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little twerp." Sneered Jesse.

James replied with, "I guess he missed us."

Jesse suddenly smirked, and said, "Foolish boy. He better prepare for trouble."

"And make it double." Finished James.

Ash suddenly got a foreboding feeling. It was this sense of dread, like what was coming would be something he could never forget. His dread was proven when Jesse and James proved that they had a poor sense of poetry.

Jesse continued her line with, "To protect the world from devistation."

"To unite all people within our nation." Encouraged James.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse!"

"James!"

Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

Meowth chipped in at the very end with a, "Meowth, dat's right!"

At the very end of this rather annoyingly catchy motto, the trio could be seen standing, posing as if for an anime photoshoot. Jesse was posed seductively, James looked like a gay model with a rose in his mouth flamenco-style, and Meowth was in the middle with his paws on his hips, preening in an imaginary spotlight. The sound of three separate faces meeting palms resounded in the cavern. Luckily, the criminal trio seemed to not notice the additional sounds.

Ash, once recovered, continued to confront them.

"Your lame motto doesn't scare me, I'll show you who's a twerp. Thor, go!"

Thor ran forward and stood a fair distance from the trio, ready for battle.

"Oh, so that's how you want to play it? Well, Ekans, go!"

"Koffing, you too!"

Both pokemon were released from pokeballs, and slithered/floated into battle positions. Ash was quicker on the draw, though.

"Thor, use takedown!"

The pikachu started barreling forwards, a golden light shining around him to the Rocket's growing horror.

"Ekans/Koffing, dodge!"

The attack missed, barely. They were really starting to regret thinking nothing of the young boy, though. Meanwhile, Brock had started taking out the exits. While they were planning, it was decided that Ash would use attacks which were either super flashy, loud and damaging, or both, in order to disguise the noise of the entryways coming down.

"Ekans, don't take that, use poison sting!"

"Koffing, try a sludge attack!"

Thor dodged around the attacks, not at all eager to take either one of them. Poison sting, although not horribly damaging when initially hitting its target, slowly drained the opponent's health as time went on. Sludge, on the other hand, was great for slowing the opponent down. It was super sticky, and could potentially blind opponents if shot at the eyes. Luckily, Thor was more than agile enough to dodge all projectiles. The object wasn't to battle, but rather stall, at least for now.

"Thor, we can't keep dodging, try a psychic attack!"

Pikachu shot off the attack, freezing the projectiles, and their owners, in place. Psychic was an attack that used the energy developed from the mind to hold enemies in place, and even control their movement. Thor wasn't particularly well-practiced at this particular pokemon type, but was more than skilled enough to hold opponents who had been caught off guard.

Jesse and James, meanwhile, were growing even more terrified of this child in front of them.

"What kind of kid is this? Who teaches their pikachu how to use takedown and psychic?" JEsse said frantically.

James grimly said, "It's not the kid. What kind of pikachu can even learn attacks like that. Now I know why the boss wanted us to keep an eye on him."

Ash, filing that tidbit away, continued ordering Thor.

"Thor, slam them on the ground! Knock them out!"

"Koffing, no!"

"Ekans, try to escape!"

Escape was futile, though. Thor slammed them again and again, not giving them any time to recover. Brock took the opportunity to take down the doorways even more furiously, but may have taken it too far. A few chunks of rock from the ceiling came loose, and a particularly large one just so happened to knock Thor on the head, making him dizzy and causing him to release the two poison pokemon from his mental grip. Jesse and James sighed in relief, and snapped in attention.

"Ekans, get up! You can still fight."

"Koffing, that pikachu didn't get to you, did he?"

Both pokemon were injured, yes, but hadn't been knocked out yet and were still able to battle. Thor, on the other hand, had wobbled to Ash and collapsed in his arms, suffering from a concussion. Ash picked him up, smiled grimly, and released Persephone, who he had recalled earlier in order to make sneaking easier.

"This is it, Sephy. Thor's out of commission due to Team Rocket's lucky break, so you're up. Send them an energy ball!"

Persephone fired off an impressive attack, but it wasn't enough. The thing with that particular attack is that because it's very localized, it can only hit one pokemon at a time. Unfortunately, that pokemon was koffing. Although he was now knocked out, and unable to battle, it had given Ekans enough time to fire another poison sting, and hit little Sephy.

Sephy cried out as the poison started to circulate in her system. Ash hadn't wanted to use her, as unfortunately, poison types were twice as effective on grass types. Sephy, now almost entirely grass, was especially sensitive to it. Ash knew he had to finish this up quick. Jesse had the same idea, and both went for binding moves.

"Ekans, use wrap!"

"Persephone, don't let her reach you! Use grass knot!"

Ekans, as a species, were especially agile due to their snake bodies. Because of this, he was able to navigate the sprouting, grasping fauna and fly into the prone pichu, knocking it against the same boulder that had concussed Thor. It began to wind its body around the pichu and the stone, pinning the small mouse to the stone surface and squeezing, the stone crumbling slightly in its grip. Sephy cried out, and one of its paws brushed against a special part of the boulder that had been revealed when part of it crumbled away.

"Sephy, hold on!" cried Ash.

And in an instant, Persephone gained a desire to win, a desire to dominate, and that, combined with the very part of the boulder that the little pichu was touching, was enough to trigger a transformation.

Persephone glowed a bright white, briefly lighting up the cavern and simultaneously blinding its occupants, before dying away.

Persephone had changed, and Ash was ectstatic.

"Persephone, you've become a pikachu!"

And she had, just one very different than most. Her ears had elongated, thinned out, and turned a dark green color. Her cheeks, which should have had bright red circles on them from which electricity was produced, now were little rounded buds, the same color as her ears. On her rear, her previously zig-zagged yellow tail had also turned a dark green, and stemmed out into a thick, flexible vine with what appeared to be a venus flytrap mouth on the end. Small leaves were sprouting at the base of her tail, and also where her brown stripes would have been on her back had she been a regular pikachu. The rest of her fur turned a light green, which was pretty much a standard for most grass-types.

Overall, Ash was impressed. Persephone had gone well beyond his expectations. With her new evolution, she had officially become fully a grass type, and if those buds were what he thought they were…

"Persephone, focus on your cheeks! Use vine whip!"

Still feeling the adrenaline from the evolution, Persephone focused her energy and let her new instincts take over. A long vine with a bud on the end sprouted from each cheek, and started viciously slicing at the poisonous snake, forcing it to release its grip. Thor, still in Ash's arms, cheered on, encouraging the grass type even more.

"Now, Sephy, use that energy and focus it into your tail! Use leaf blade!"

Persephone's tail lit up like a beacon, and glowed a bright green. She swept it onto Ekans's head, and it was finally enough to knock the snake unconscious.

"You little twerp, I don't know what kind of things you have been feeding that pokemon, but…"

At that moment a swarm of police officers swarmed into the caverns, led by Officer Jenny, from the one remaining entrance located behind Ash. Before any of ASh's group had enacted their plan, they had called the station to inform the officers what was going on. Brock, as a gym leader, had enough standing and authority to enact the plan the group had come up with, and stall for time. Ash didn't want the criminals to be blown away like last time, he wanted them locked up. Soon enough, the pokemon were recalled and confiscated, while the three criminals were detained. Ash and his group were thanked for their efforts, and after receiving their statements and the data chips Seymore recovered, the trio was allowed to leave.

At the end of the mountain path, Seymore stopped to say goodbye.

"I need to stay here to take care of the pokemon and continue my research. But don't worry, I won't forget what you've done. I don't think the zubat will either."

And he was right. The zubat had scattered around the many caverns, and spread the word of the three courageous trainers who saved their home, but were kind enough to care for their young. One particular group of pink pokemon were intrigued. One trainer sounded eerily similar to the one in their legends. Could he be the one…?

Seymore waved off the trainers as they exited the caves and headed down Route 4 towards Cerulean City. A small group of pink pokemon, hidden from view, stood and watched, eagerly awaiting the day the trainer would come back, for they knew he would. They always knew.


End file.
